City council rejects Chinatown tower proposal

After four public hearings in May and over 300 speakers, Vancouver city council voted against Beedie Development Group ’s plan for a 12-storey mixed-use building to be built at 105 Keefer Street.

City councillors on Tuesday (June 13) voted 8-3 against the proposal, with the opponents arguing that the proposed building was too tall and that only a third of the 25 units of seniors’ housing proposed by the developer would be required to be rented at welfare-level rates – a proportion insufficient to outweigh concerns about the proposed height of the building.

Coun. Kerry Jang said given how close 105 Keefer Street is to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, a building of the height proposed by the developer would interfere with enjoyment of the garden. He said it would be better to “err on the side of caution” in development of the site.